Service and Sacrifice: Mongolia continues to strengthen its contribution to UN peacekeeping

Mongolia first joined United Nations peacekeeping in 2002 with the deployment of two unarmed military observers to the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. Soon after that, it sent two more officers to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, Mongolia has continued to expand its contributions to UN peace operations in hot spots around the world.

In 2006, Mongolia made its first sizeable contribution to UN peacekeeping when it deployed 250 military personnel to the UN Mission in Liberia, a West African country that was recovering from a violent civil war. Six years later, Mongolia undertook it largest deployment to date when it sent a full battalion of 850 troops to the UN Mission in South Sudan, where they continue to play an important role in protecting civilians.

Throughout its decade-and-a-half history in UN peacekeeping, Mongolian contributions to UN peacekeeping have been notable for their high standards of training and for the high number of women they deploy.

Mongolia has risen to become the 27th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping, with nearly 900 military and police personnel deployed in five operations. But they have not forgotten their first mission–they continue to send a handful of military observers to Western Sahara.

Mongolian Hospital Unit in Darfur treats UN personnel and reaches out to local community

Peacekeeping is a dangerous business. UN personnel can sustain injuries in the line of duty, the workplace or in vehicular accidents, and harsh conditions and disease can also take its toll. Peacekeeping operations deploy medical contingents contributed by Member States to ensure that UN personnel – troops, police and civilians – receive the best medical care possible.

In Kabkabiya in the Darfur region of Sudan, Mongolia has for several years provided a Level Two Hospital to address this need. The unit consists of 68 personnel, 34 men and 34 women, and is responsible for providing UN personnel with health care, emergency resuscitation and stabilization, life and limb-saving surgical interventions, basic dental care and facilitation of casualty evacuation for more severe cases. It also administered vaccinations and other prophylaxis measures. In addition to serving UN staff, the Mongolian hospital unit treated more than 10,000 people from the local communities.

Mongolian troops serve as military observers in Western Sahara

Since 2003, more than 14,000 Mongolian peacekeepers have served in UN missions around the world. Today, Mongolia deploys nearly 900 peacekeepers to five UN peacekeeping operations – in South Sudan, Abyei, Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Western Sahara. The Mongolian contribution consists of troops, police and unarmed military observers.

A key task of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is monitoring the ceasefire observed by the parties since September 1991 – carried out by some 200 military observers. Seen here, a Mongolian military observer serving with MINURSO, together with colleagues from Ghana, France and Bangladesh, check a map while carrying out an observation patrol in the vast area in Smara.

Mongolian peacekeepers provide crucial security support for vital airdrop of food in South Sudan

In recent years, the people of South Sudan have simultaneously endured civil war and high levels of food insecurity. Among their tasks, Mongolian peacekeepers provide security as the UN World Food Programme (WFP) drops much-needed food in Bentiu, South Sudan. Their responsibilities also include protecting civilians, securing UN bases, carrying out patrols, escorting convoys, supporting search operations carried out by UN Police, as well as protecting fellow peacekeepers as they carry out road maintenance and demining operations.

Mongolian peacekeepers awarded UN Medal in South Sudan

In May 2017, more than 850 Mongolian peacekeepers were awarded the United Nations Medal for their commitment and service to the UN and the people of South Sudan during a ceremony in Bentiu. In awarding the medals, the Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, praised the Mongolian troops for their “robust, calm and appropriate” approach to peacekeeping. He said the courage and determination they had shown set a high standard for all peacekeeping forces to emulate.

“The Mongolian peacekeepers have led the way in terms of robustness which is an approach that we would like to see more of in our peacekeeping efforts in South Sudan,” Mr. Shearer added.

Mongolian peacekeepers provide security at Special Court in Sierra Leone

Ensuring justice is a key element of the work of the United Nations, including its peacekeeping operations. The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up by the Government and the UN to “prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law” during the country’s civil war (1991-2002).

When the UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone closed, the Security Council mandated the UN mission in neighbouring Liberia (UNMIL) to provide security to the detainees and the Court. Mongolia accepted the responsibility and deployed its personnel in early 2006. The well-trained and equipped Mongolian Guard Unit performed to the highest standards and completed its mission years ago.

DR Congo: UN warns of spike in displaced population amid funding shortfall

The United Nations migration agency is hoping that the upcoming donor pledging conference for the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will generate more financial support to cope with a spike in the number of people displaced by violence.

“Some funding has come in but not nearly enough to meet the critical needs of millions in the DRC,” said Jean-Philippe Chauzy, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the African country, noting that the 13 April conference is an opportunity to generate more financial pledges to “avert unnecessary deaths and suffering.”

Since the last quarter of 2017, violence carried out by armed groups in the DRC has caused a spike in the number of the displaced, to more than 4.5 million. Due to lack of funding and access, a majority have yet to be reached with aid.

In the Beni Territory of North-Kivu, attacks by armed groups displaced more than 2,200 people from their homes in the first week of February alone. This is in addition to the 1,500 people who were displaced at the end of January. As of mid-February, more than 12,000 displaced people were sheltering in that locality.

Some funding has come in but not nearly enough to meet the critical needs of millions in the DRC.

IOM says their most basic needs like food and shelter are not being met because no humanitarian actors have yet to reach the areas where displaced people are arriving.

In the Djugu Territory, just south of North-Kivu, inter-ethnic violence between Hema and Lendu groups is flaring up, with 28,634 people fleeing burning villages and for fear of their lives to Bunia, Ituri’s provincial capital, in the last couple of weeks.

In the greater Kasai region, previously considered calm, intercommunal and land-related conflicts have been escalating since 2016. During the worst days of 2017, the region had a population of about 1.3 million internally displaced people. Today, the region hosts 896,000 internally displaced people.

The security situation has improved in some areas over the past months, prompting some internally displaced people to return to their places of origin. But those returning to burned down villages are in urgent need of humanitarian support.

Since its release, only $4.7 million has been given towards IOM’s $75 million appeal for 2018, the agency said.

The pledging conference will be held in Geneva, hosted by the UN, the European Commission and the Netherlands.

Read IOM’s appeal here, which is part of the wider UN humanitarian response plan.

Fighting prevents UN and aid partners from returning to Syria’s war-battered east Ghouta

Continuing fighting forced the postponement on Thursday of a United Nations inter-agency relief convoy to Douma, a neighborhood in Syria’s war-ravaged Eastern Ghouta, a UN spokesman reported.

This news comes after the UN and other humanitarian agencies were forced on Monday to leave after nine hours in Douma amid ongoing shelling in east Ghouta and the Syrian capital, Damascus. Only 10 trucks were fully unloaded while four were partially unloaded. As a result, half of the food for 27,500 people was not delivered.

“The United Nations continues to receive reports of escalating fighting in East Ghouta and shelling on Damascus,” UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily UN Headquarters press briefing.

The ongoing hostilities, he said, are endangering civilians and preventing humanitarian assistance from reaching hundreds of thousands of people in need, including thousands of vulnerable children.

“The complete assistance to reach a total of 70,000 people in Douma, including medical and health supplies, still needs to be delivered,” he explained.

More than 100 people have been killed in the enclave in the past 48 hours, said Mr. Dujarric, adding that since 24 February, when the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities throughout Syria, hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands injured due to air and ground strikes.

“The UN remains ready to deliver assistance to all people in need in Douma, other areas in east Ghouta and other hard-to-reach and besieged areas as soon as conditions allow,” said Mr. Dujarric, adding that the UN continues to call on all parties to immediately allow safe and unimpeded access for further convoys to deliver critical supplies to hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

UN News spoke to Marwa Awad, communications officer for the World Food Programme (WFP), based in the Syrian capital, who said the escalation and fighting in besieged and hard-to-reach areas has paralysed the UN’s response and WFP’s ability to reach those who desperately need help.

“A case in point is the UN and partners inability to return to Douma in east Ghouta today because the movement of the convoy was not authorized due to security concerns on the ground,” she said.

The UN estimates that some 400,000 people are trapped in the towns and villages of east Ghouta and Secretary-General António Guterres, who has been calling for the ongoing siege to be lifted, has described the conditions there as “hell on earth.”

On International Women’s Day, UN celebrates the power of activism to bring change for ‘sisterhood of humanity’

Ni mas uno in Latin America, Balance ton porc in Europe, Bring back our girls in western Africa, Times Up in North America, #HeForShe and #MeToo in nearly all countries, were just some of the campaigns that have only grown from strength to strength, said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN-Women, the Organization’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

“We celebrate today the power of activism to bring change for all women, their solidarity and the sisterhood of humanity,” added the senior UN official.

Alongside Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka in the UN General Assembly Hall, American actor and producer Reese Witherspoon highlighted that the movement for women’s rights will continue until it achieves its goals.

“Understand that we will not leave, that we will not shut up, we want to see us represent 50/50,” said the Oscar-winning actor.

Understand that we will not leave, that we will not shut up, we want to see us represent 50/50 – Actor and activist Reese Witherspoon

“We will defend women next to us.”

American-Zimbabwean actor and playwright Danai Gurica – who in addition to portraying Michonne in the TV series The Walking Dead and ‘Okoye’ in the blockbuster movie Black Panther – is also a noted education and women’s rights activist, testified about her own experience as a woman in her professional career.

“I drew strength [for my characters] from women from my own life in Zimbabwe,” she said.

The potential of girls and women must not be squandered, added Ms. Gurica, thanking those who stand up for women’s rights and urged many more to join in taking the stand.

Gender inequality, discrimination and violence against women harm us all – Secretary-General António Guterres

In the same vein, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed that the demand an end to abusive behaviour and discriminatory attitudes against women is something that every “sensible” man and boy should want.

“Because gender equality is a fundamental human right [and] there is no better path to a more peaceful and prosperous world than the empowerment of women and girls,” he said.

“Gender inequality, discrimination and violence against women harm us all,” added the UN chief, noting overwhelming evidence that investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities, companies and countries.

Gender inequality, discrimination and violence against women harm us all – UN chief Guterres

In his remarks, Mr. Guterres also highlighted the importance that women’s participation brings to societies and economies. He, however, also said that while much has been achieved since the first commemoration of the International Day (in 1976), challenges remain.

“We still need to break the structural barriers that women and girls face – unpaid care work, unequal pay, harmful stereotypes, discrimination and violence,” he stressed, reiterating his call on everyone to demand gender equality and women’s empowerment together.

Also speaking today, Miroslav Lajčák, the President of the General Assembly, highlighted that many efforts have been made to ensure women’s empowerment and gender equality but added that much more needed to be done.

“For every woman who enjoys her human rights, there are too many others fighting for their own [and] for every woman living in safety, too many others are living in fear,” he said.

He expressed that the world needs to reinvigorate the focus on gender and the UN must lead the way.

“We can no longer call for gender equality without following our calls with action. We can no longer speak out for women’s rights without speaking out even lounder when they are violated and we can no longer agree that action is needed without taking it ourselves,” added the Assembly President.

(left) Observance of International Women’s Day 2018 at the General Assembly. UN Photo/Manuel Elias; (right) A Rohingya refugee speaks at an event commemorating International Women’s Day at a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo: UN Women/Allison Joyce

Held under the theme ‘Time is Now,’ International Women’s Day 2018 celebrates the work of rural and urban activists who have transformed the lives of women around the world.

In addition to events at the UN Headquarters in New York, the International Day was also marked in all corners of the globe with a number of events, including forums, marathons, concerts and video screenings.

It also comes ahead of the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, which will be held from 12-23 March.

Despite ongoing unrest, DR Congo must press ahead with preparations for credible elections, says UN envoy

Highlighting political tensions and the disintegrating security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Leila Zerrougui, briefing the Security Council for the first time as head of the UN stabilization mission in the contry, said significant progress is being made on preparations for upcoming polls.

“While national political attention remains centred on the confidence-building measures and progress in the electoral process, the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has continued to deteriorate,” she told the Council – presenting the latest report of the Secretary‑General on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Noting that this brought increased risks for renewed instability in many parts of the country, and posed serious threats to the civilian population, she stated that the DRC continues to face one of the world’s most serious humanitarian crises.

“There is no other way of saying it – the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is shocking,” she lamented, pointing out that the number of internally displaced persons in need of humanitarian assistance has become the highest in Africa.

Ms. Zerrougui condemned the persistent attacks by armed groups across the country, the recruitment of children, the rape of women and young girls, the burning of houses and the desecration of places of worship.

“It is the responsibility of those that direct and those that perpetrate these attacks to ensure that this unacceptable violence comes to an end,” she said. “And it is our collective responsibility to ensure that those that direct and perpetrate these crimes be held fully responsible for their actions.”

She encouraged the Council to consider how the security situation could be stabilized and the political and electoral process best supported – in line with the 31 December 2016 agreement for a peaceful political transition.

“A failure to generate confidence in the full and faithful implementation of the 31 December agreement will only serve to heighten political tensions, and to fuel the risks of inciting violence for political ends,” she underscored.

She assured the Council that during these times of simmering tensions, the UN Mission remains “steadfast in its commitment to support the Congolese authorities to protect those most vulnerable, and most affected, by acts of violence.”

Ms. Zerrougui also expressed her concern over the disproportionate use of force by security services during recent demonstrations, saying that the Government should investigate and take appropriate measures. During those protests, which began at the end of last year, nearly two dozen people were reportedly killed, more than a hundred were wounded and some 200 were arrested.

Moreover, she pointed to the need to restore confidence in the political process, including through the release of political prisoners.

The Special Representative also highlighted the progress made in preparing for the presidential and legislative elections in the country and paid homage to the determination of the Congolese people to participate in the political process.